


one minute to spare

by eternal_octopus



Category: ONEUS (Band), ONEWE (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternal_octopus/pseuds/eternal_octopus
Summary: It's just that this Valentine's Day, for the first time in his life, he has a boyfriend. And maybe it's stupid to be upset that they're apart today, because he's known Keonhee for a long time, and even though they've only been officially dating for a few months there's been a mutual attraction between them for a lot longer. But it is still, technically, their first Valentine's as a couple, and Dongmyeong's spent the whole day feeling mopey about the fact that his stupid brother gets to be with Keonhee today and he doesn't.OrDongmyeong's upset enough that going home to his parents' house for Seollal means he'll be away from his boyfriend on Valentine's Day, but then said boyfriend doesn't even bother to text him.//A Valentine's fic inspired byDongmyeongandKeonheedoing Vlives after 10PM KST on Valentine's Day that overlapped by three minutes.
Relationships: Lee Keonhee/Son Dongmyeong
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	one minute to spare

**Author's Note:**

> The biggest thank you ever goes out to my beta (and girlfriend), Joy, who not only wrote her own [ONEUS Valentine's fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414247) (go read it, it's so so so good), but also was such a wonderful cheerleader for me on this fic. Not to mention she worked her usual magic on the beta and helped this story be so much better than it would be otherwise. She's honestly the reason I keep writing, because I know nothing I post will go out into the world until she's made it the best it can be.

Dongmyeong is truly happy to be home with his parents, grateful to be able to relax and sleep late and eat good, home cooked food. And he knows he's really, really lucky to get to spend Seollal with his family (especially considering his brother doesn't), but at the same time he can't say he doesn't hate that the holiday weekend happens to overlap with Valentine's Day this year.

He'd briefly considered the possibility of not going home at all, once he realized. But there's a chance this will be the last opportunity he'll have to spend Seollal with his parents for a while, not to mention he has no idea how he'd explain not coming home to _them_.

It's just that this Valentine's Day, for the first time in his life, he has a boyfriend. And maybe it's stupid to be upset that they're apart today, because he's known Keonhee for a long time, and even though they've only been officially dating for a few months there's been a mutual attraction between them for a lot longer. But it is still, technically, their first Valentine's as a couple, and Dongmyeong's spent the whole day feeling mopey about the fact that his stupid brother gets to be with Keonhee today and he doesn't.

Eating his mother's cooking for dinner helps a little, at least. He takes a few pictures of it before they eat and almost sends them to Dongju just to gloat, but as much as Dongmyeong would like to blame him it isn't actually his brother's fault that he's back at the dorm with Dongmyeong's boyfriend and Dongmyeong isn't.

There isn't any guarantee he and Keonhee would have done anything together today anyway. They didn't talk about it before Dongmyeong left for Suwon, partially because ONEUS was still in the middle of their comeback but also because Dongmyeong didn't think his heart could take the disappointment of knowing what could have happened if he'd been able to stay in Seoul. And it's not that Keonhee isn't a good boyfriend or anything, because he's actually been amazing, sweet and thoughtful and romantic, but they're all so _busy_ , and Valentine's Day is kind of frivolous and over-marketed. Dongmyeong doesn't even know if Keonhee _likes_ Valentine's Day.

Dongmyeong manages to successfully distract himself all the way up until a little before ten PM, but then his parents go to bed and he sits in his bedroom, refreshing his text messages and pretending he's not waiting for Keonhee to text him and it _sucks_. He's lonely and he and Keonhee have only been together since November and he doesn't want to be _that person_ , the one who gets too far ahead of themselves or reads too much into things and overreacts about something like not getting a text on Valentine's Day.

He can't even text his brother for comfort because his brother lives in the same apartment as his boyfriend, sleeps in the same _room_ , and he doesn't want to risk Keonhee seeing. Or Dongju being a dick and telling Keonhee about it.

Dongmyeong rolls over on his bed, presses his face into his pillow, and wails. He knows he's being dramatic, but he can't help it. He's never had a significant other on Valentine's Day before, and he always says he doesn't care, but he _does_. He wants to the be like all the other couples who are giving each other fancy chocolates and flowers and cute, stuffed toys, he wants to give Keonhee the presents he bought, he wants Keonhee to sweep him into his arms and kiss him and tell him how much he likes being together.

He never imagined himself crying over something like this at his parents house at age twenty-two, but his life has never gone the way he expected before, so why would it start now?

But he's not going to wallow. He had his mother's tteokguk for Seollal and whenever he feels like waking up tomorrow he'll have her breakfast waiting for him. And then maybe he'll go shopping or spend the day watching TV because he's on _vacation_ ; he doesn't have anywhere to be and he can do whatever the hell he wants.

So he gets out of bed, washes his face, and starts a Vlive. Because even if Keonhee doesn't want to talk to him, Weves always do.

It's a good idea, because he always feels better when he's talking to the fans. Even when they're mostly just saying they love him and asking him to say things in other languages, they're _here_ , spending their time with him. And all the love declarations he's getting don't hurt his self-esteem, either. He feels a lot better twenty minutes later when he signs off. Plus there's only an hour and fifteen minutes of Valentine's Day left for him to get through, and he can fill that time watching an episode of _Private Lives_ or something.

Except he has two notifications on his phone when he ends the live: two texts messages, both from Keonhee, and a notice from Vlive that ONEUS is now broadcasting.

He's not ready to read the texts so he goes to ONEUS's channel, somehow already sure exactly who he'll see on the screen.

Keonhee's wearing a white tracksuit with a black t-shirt underneath, sitting in the little storage room at RBW, the one dubbed the "makeout room" because it's almost always empty, has a lock on the door and a _couch_ , and Dongmyeong and Keonhee are definitely not the first two people to use that space to mess around. The last place Dongmyeong saw Keonhee before he left for Suwon was in that room, because ONEUS was going to be practicing late and Dongmyeong had to get up early. Because, even though Dongmyeong was pretending not to care that they weren't going to get to spend Seoullal Valentine's Day together, he wasn't going to leave town for half a week without kissing Keonhee goodbye.

Keonhee looks so good on Dongmyeong's little phone screen. He's so cute and hot, confident even when he isn't wearing makeup, something Dongmyeong both loves about him and envies desperately. He's been missing Keonhee this whole time, but seeing his face, hearing his voice, Dongmyeong's heart starts to ache. He just likes Keonhee so much, has liked him for such a long time, and Keonhee _knows_ all that, they're a couple now. Dongmyeong should be there, should get to kiss the guy he likes on Valentine's Day, should have that guy's arms wrapped around him, holding him, making him feel loved and wanted.

He can't keep watching this, can't keep listening to Keonhee saying cute things to Tomoons all the while sitting right next to the couch where, a few days ago, he was sucking little bruises low on Dongmyeong's neck and putting his hand down Dongmyeong's pants. Still, it's hard for Dongmyeong to stop, too. Because he misses Keonhee's face and his voice so much, because if this is all he's going to get today, at least it's better than nothing.

The only thing that makes him close Vlive is remembering he has texts from Keonhee he hasn't read yet. He's still a little worried what they might say, but having something at all from Keonhee is better than nothing.

**[10:27PM] 😍 keonhee 😍 :** you are so cute **  
[10:27PM] 😍 keonhee 😍 :** i miss you so much

It's somehow both more and less than Dongmyeong is hoping for. Part of Dongmyeong is mad Keonhee didn't bother sending him a message until 10:30 at night on Valentine's Day, that he waited until Dongmyeong was on Vlive to say anything to him at all. But the rest of Dongmyeong feels better knowing Keonhee's missing him too, that seeing Dongmyeong's face is more than he can ignore.

Dongmyeong has no idea how long Keonhee plans to be live, and maybe it's a little pathetic, but there's still an hour left in Valentine's Day and Dongmyeong wants to talk to his boyfriend, dammit. So he sends Keonhee a text, short and sweet: _call me when your live is over?_

And then he gets back into his bed, pulls his blankets up over his sweats and fuzzy hoodie, and waits. He doesn't think he can go back to watching Keonhee's Vlive because he'll just spend the whole time simultaneously willing it to be over and worrying Keonhee won't actually call him once it is. Instead he mindlessly plays a puzzle game, mostly to distract himself from obsessively staring at the clock.

His phone rings only a few minutes later, screen filling with the view from his own front-facing camera and making him jump. He's not sure why, but he didn't expect Keonhee to want to video call him. And he knows Keonhee just saw his face a few minutes ago, but for some reason he feels nervous being on camera now, worried Keonhee will see his patchy eyebrows and the zit on his cheek and wonder why he ever found Dongmyeong attractive in the first place.

But that implies Keonhee's a shallow jerk, which is honestly about as far from Keonhee's personality as it's possible to get. Also Dongmyeong really wants to see Keonhee's face, so he sits up a little more in his bed, adjusts his beanie, and answers the call.

Keonhee's still in the storage room, still in the same chair he'd been in for his Vlive. But he's holding his phone in his hand now instead of using the tripod, the video showing less of the room and a closer view of his face.

Dongmyeong's heart flutters. He's known Keonhee for years, he sees him all the time, but somehow he still feels flustered whenever he knows Keonhee's looking at him and no one else.

"Hi," Keonhee says, offering a soft smile.

"Hi," Dongmyeong replies, trying not to look at his own face in the little box in the corner, to worry about how he looks. "How was your live?"

Keonhee's expression falters. "You didn't watch?" he asks, sounding disappointed.

"I watched a little," Dongmyeong says. He feels instantly irritated and he hates it; he's been waiting all day for Keonhee to get ahold of him and now everything between them feels off, awkward and uncomfortable. "You didn't watch all of mine either, so."

Keonhee frowns. "That's fair," he says, his shoulders rising and falling with a sigh. "I guess I was kind of upset you went on Vlive when you haven't texted me or anything at all today. I should have waited for yours to be over before I started mine, I'm sorry."

Dongmyeong clenches his jaw. "It's okay," he says, but even he can hear how insincere he sounds. "But like you also could have texted me. If you wanted to talk to me."

Keonhee actually looks a little mad, which makes Dongmyeong feel even more pissed off, but also he's so _sad_. This is supposed to be a day where they tell each other how much they care about each other, not one where they fight.

"I thought you'd call me or something," Keonhee says, his voice shaking a little. "Like when you got the flowers."

Dongmyeong blinks. "Flowers? What flowers?"

Keonhee's eyebrows disappear behind his bangs. "You didn't get the flowers I sent?"

Dongmyeong's heart clenches, his fingers going numb. "You sent me flowers?"

"Yes," Keonhee says. "Or at least I tried to. I'm pretty sure I used the right address. I got it from your brother."

Dongmyeong doesn't know what to say, his chest going tight and his eyes aching like he's about to cry. "I didn't see any flowers. Like nobody brought in any that I saw. I never heard the doorbell, but I slept a little late," he fumbles. "Should I go check outside?"

"No, no, it's okay. I probably screwed up the address," Keonhee hurriedly replies. "I can check my email but I don't want to stop looking at your face."

Dongmyeong sobs before he can stop himself, pressing his hand over his eyes. "I can't believe I thought you didn't want to talk to me on Valentine's Day," he says, his voice wavering as he feels the wetness of tears against his palm.

"I wanted to surprise you," Keonhee says. The tone of his voice is a little watery too and Dongmyeong pulls his hand away, sees that the edges of Keonhee's eyes are red. "I could tell you were disappointed about us not being able to celebrate together so I wanted to do something to cheer you up. But I fucked it up."

"You didn't," Dongmyeong says with a whimper, wiping at his eyes as tears roll unhindered down his cheeks. "I've been thinking about you all day, I should have called you or texted or something. I just thought maybe, I don't know. That you didn't like Valentine's Day or didn't like me enough yet to acknowledge it."

Keonhee blinks hard, his eyelashes coming away wet. "I love Valentine's Day." His voice is rough but firm. "And I love..."

He stops himself, swallowing thickly. "I was going to wait for you to get home," he starts again. "I had this whole plan, to bring you here and give you the presents I got you. And then I'd tell you."

Dongmyeong can barely breathe, his heart racing and hands shaking. "Tell me what?"

Keonhee takes a breath, sharp enough Dongmyeong can hear it over the phone. "That I love you," he says.

Dongmyeong shivers, his eyelashes fluttering closed. He inhales, filling his lungs as he opens his eyes again. "You do?"

Keonhee nods. "I couldn't put it in the note on the flowers because I figured your parents would see it, so I just said something stupid like I'm happy you're my friend. Which is true, but also not even half of how I feel about you. And then you didn't get the flowers anyway," he explains with a defeated laugh, his chair creaking as he sags back into it.

"It felt too big to just say it in a text or even over the phone, so I thought I'd send the flowers so you knew I was thinking about you and missing you," he goes on. "Then I'd say it as soon as I could do it in person."

Dongmyeong understands, because all he wants right now is to throw himself into Keonhee's arms and hold on for the rest of his life. "I hate this," he whines, using the sleeve of his hoodie to soak up some of the tears clinging to his chin. "I hate being here, I hate that I was mad at you all day. I hate being away from you, I hate it so _much_."

"I'm sorry," Keonhee says, his mouth tugged into a deep frown. "I'm probably making it worse."

"You are, but it's not your fault," Dongmyeong replies, sniffling. "I just want to be home right now, I want to be with you. I miss you so fucking much and I want to hug you and kiss you and hear you say you love me like you planned." He has to stop, to take a deep breath, because he feels like his chest is caving in.

"Fuck, Keonhee, I love you so much," he sobs, his heart twisting, tears still welling in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. "I've never been in love before and I thought maybe I was, maybe I was falling in love with you, but I was scared it was too fast so I didn't say anything."

Keonhee looks shaken, his eyes wide as he stares at Dongmyeong's image on his phone. "How long have you felt this way?"

Dongmyeong laughs wetly. "Um, pretty much the whole time?"

"Like, since we started dating?"

Dongmyeong nods, rubbing at one swollen, damp cheek. "I've liked you forever, you know that. I think as soon as I was allowed to have more feelings for you I pretty much did."

"You could have told me," Keonhee says gently. "I get why you didn't, but it would have been okay if you did."

Dongmyeong sniffs. He feels awful, emotionally drained and physically exhausted, guilty and lonely and aching to be in Keonhee's arms. "I'm sorry this is happening right now," he says miserably. "I wish I didn't have to wait so long to see you."

"Me too," Keonhee agrees. "I wish I could wipe your tears for you. I wish I didn't make you cry in the first place."

"It's not your fault," Dongmyeong says. "If the stupid flower shop had delivered your flowers everything would be fine."

The corner of Keonhee's mouth twitches into a grin. "Don't blame them yet. It could have been me putting the address in wrong."

"Maybe. But I don't want to blame you," Dongmyeong says. "So let's blame the flower shop. Or my stupid brother. Maybe he's the one who got the address wrong."

Keonhee laughs. "Okay," he says. "Let's not tell Dongju that though, okay? I'm already having a crappy day because I don't get to see my boyfriend on Valentine's Day. I don't need someone biting me, too."

"I can't blame you," Dongmyeong agrees, huffing a laugh. "He always bites so hard, too. I don't know where he learned that."

"Actually, I was kind of hoping the biting was a Son twin thing," Keonhee says, his smile turning a little sly.

Dongmyeong feels his eyebrows go up. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Keonhee says, still grinning. "I don't think I'd mind it so much if you bit me."

"Mmm," Dongmyeong hums, smiling back. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

Keonhee sighs softly. "I'm really happy to see you smiling." 

"Me too," Dongmyeong says. "To see you smiling, I mean. I'm sorry for being a jerk."

"You're not a jerk," Keonhee replies. "I'm sorry for making you cry."

"It's okay," Dongmyeong says. "It's not your fault, remember?"

Keonhee breathes a laugh, but his expression softens again immediately. "I should probably go," he says reluctantly. "The others are waiting for me so we can take a car back to the dorm together."

Dongmyeong could sense this was coming, but he isn't ready for it; they could talk all night and he wouldn't be ready to say goodbye to Keonhee. It's comforting at least that Keonhee seems as unhappy about having to hang up as Dongmyeong. "Okay."

"I really, really miss you," Keonhee says. "Like so much."

"I miss you too," Dongmyeong replies. "But I'll be home really soon. Before you know it."

"Not soon enough," Keonhee pouts. "Now isn't soon enough."

Dongmyeong's heart squeezes behind his ribs. "You don't have to romance me, Lee Keonhee. I'm already in love with you."

Keonhee presses his hand to his chest. "I'm never going to get over hearing you say that," he says. "Also I like romancing you. No ulterior motives."

"I like it too," Dongmyeong admits, biting his lip. "Please don't stop."

"I won't," Keonhee promises. "I'll text you tomorrow, okay?"

Dongmyeong nods. "Tell Dongju Mom and Dad say hi," he says. "And me too, I guess."

Keonhee chuckles lightly. "I'll tell him. Sleep well, Myeong-ah," he says, then quickly adds, "I love you."

A shiver rolls through Dongmyeong again, leaving him shaky. "I love you," he echoes breathlessly, staring at his phone, at Keonhee's face on the screen, until the call disconnects.

Once his phone goes dark, he lowers his hand, resting it on his chest. It feels weird and quiet now that he's no longer listening to Keonhee's voice, but at the same time he's glad there's no other sound, that he can just replay the last three words Keonhee said to him over and over in his head uninterrupted.

Dongmyeong never guessed when he answered the phone tonight that he'd get to hear Keonhee tell him he loved him. But then his life has never gone the way he expected, and he's never been more glad.

Against his sternum, his phone vibrates in his hand. Lifting it up, he sees two text messages from Keonhee.

**[11:59PM] 😍 keonhee 😍 :** one minute to spare ~~ happy valentines day!  
**[12:00AM] 😍 keonhee 😍 :** i love you 😘

Dongmyeong smiles; he can still hear the echo of those words in his brain, can still remember exactly how Keonhee's eyes looked when he said them. And in two days, when he gets back to Seoul, he'll get to hear Keonhee say them again, close enough that they can hold hands, that Dongmyeong can feel the warmth of Keonhee body, that he can give Keonhee the kiss he's desperately aching to give him right now.

_happy valentine's, baby. i love you too!_ 😘 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to come find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/eternal_octopus). 🙂


End file.
